Thursday, March 25, 2010

So which one of this couple you think made this quilt? Yes, you are right if you guessed the husband. You know how much I love when a man tells me he sews or quilts. I am proud to say that Peapod has a pretty good number of male customers who love to sew. Here you see one of them, Greg with his wife Irene. He is a Peapod loyal and sews regularly. He makes handkerchiefs and wears them to go to work. See one in his chest pocket? Isn't it nice? But, when he heard his friend was having a baby, he decided to make something much larger. A baby quilt, and his very first quilt ever. I am very impressed. Making the first quilt is a scary thing. I've seen many women worry so much before and during making one, but Greg was fearless. Got everything he needed, and did it with the "just do it attitude." I love that. And the result is one cute comfy quilt. He put double layered batting, and it feels so warm. And I can't believe he hand stitched the binding front and back (because it was too thick to fit under his machine's foot). No doubt it is one special quilt! Thank you for sharing, Greg and Irene!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Okay, move over the four Black Apple dollies. It's Cherry's turn. Here she is. On her second appearance. Last time she was here, I didn't know her name. Now let me officially introduce you to Miss Doll USA, Cherry! Ivy's lovely doll. You can tell how much Ivy loves her. Look at them. In absolutely matching outfits. And yes, Ivy made them. Pleats and zipper and all. Isn't this fun? Imagine. Designing a dress. Choosing a fabric. Stitching it. And dress your doll up when you finish. Sewing is the best hobby for a girl (and boy)! And a sewing machine is a girl's (and boy's) best friend. Agree? Thank you always, Ivy!

My three girls had a play date the other day with Laura's little dolly. Laura has a six year old girl, but she is growing up so fast that she had to make another wee little girl to play with :-) She made her without blowing up the pattern. Yes ladies, remember to enlarge the pattern by 150 %. So as being an original printed size, she is like my girls' little sister. Aren't they cute together? Did you tell me what her name was, Laura? Or did I just forget? Anyways, thank you, Laura!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Just in time for Easter, today's Sew & Tell is perfect. I guess I wasn't the only one making little stuffed friends. This is Kelly's Mr. Rabbit passing out on her baby quilt after racing against Mr. Turtle :-) Remember WB cartoons? No, I'm just kidding. He is just taking a nap, I suppose. He is wearing a seahorse body and face. Ants crawling all over his arms and ears. Mushrooms growing on his long legs. Yes, he has a long skinny body which was hard to stuff. A part of the doll making process which might frustrate you as it does me. Anyways, he is a charactor. A cute little guy! I could easily imagine he makes Kelly smile. And it is so nice to see all prints in one as a quilt. Don't you think? Thank you, Kelly!

Friday, March 19, 2010

If you don't know Peapod's store front has changed a bit, you haven't been here for a while. It was way overdue. I know. The shop needed and still needs some cosmetic treatments. The pale green was so damaged from the evening sun for more than four years. Even graffiti which I ignored for a year was fading. Well, I've learned that a pastel color is not right for a store exterior, so I went towards a darker color this time. Turquoise that is. The color has turned the shop more visible, and more people have noticed the shop for the first time. Still? Yup. I should have done this sooner. I hesitated to show the picture because of the ugly awning you might be able to see. Well, it came with the building, but when the owner of the building installed new shingles a year ago, they removed it and put it back unleveled. Now it looks worse. They also left lots of marks on the wall under the awning and damaged the garden. You can see the empty spot in the garden where another bush of daisy used to be. Now it is a perfect spot for an irresponsible dog owner to leave their business. I can't say enough it's hard to maintain a small teeny tiny store front. Uh, let's see what happened so far...my other sandwich sign was stolen twice. Vandalised garden numerous times. Graffiti. And a tiny picketed fence was stolen a couple days after I installed to keep dogs out. And I'm not even talking about the business operation itself. No I don't have a budget to replace the awning yet. It is a low budget, small family operated business. The painting job was done by my trusted, but a bit frustrated boy. You could see his frustration at the brush mark above the frame :-( Maybe someday Peapod will receive a full face lift with the prettiest awning in town. Maybe even at a better location...

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My dollie fever continues... Three girls under the quilt, from left to right, are Lucy, Billie Jean, and Molly. Soon after Lucy, I made Molly the apron girl. Then Billie Jean. Sounds familiar? :-) I made them for my friends' kids, but now I'm having a second thought. Looks like they are already friends for life, and Lucy will miss them if I give them away. I will probably have to make different dolls for those girls. After seeing Noa's dollie, I stitched all three girls' eyes and lips. Lucy and Molly already had them, but I wasn't really happy with how they looked because I used a pen. Sad... Now all three look bubbly, no?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

I couldn't wait to post today's Sew & Tell. Meagan brought her baby girl, Noa, dressed in a shirt she made. OMG, I gasped when I saw her. She made this as a dress when Noa was just one month old. Now, after four months, it is a shirt perfect with the jeans. Look at her, Noa looks so styley. She is also wearing her mom's handmade hat with a ruffled fabric flower. I just love love love her layered look. And the booties! Peace everyone! No, this Sew & Tell doesn't end here...keep reading.+++++++++++++++I got so excited when Meagan told me she made a Black Apple Doll with a matching dress with Noa's, but left it in the car. I told her to go get it so she could get sales tax free. (In case you missed this post, if you make Lucy's friend, you get the"Let's make Lucy's friend discount") When she came back, OMG I gasped even louder. Noa and her dollie! In matching outfits! What could be more adorable? The dollie without a name has been very very well loved. Her smooth felted hair is becoming nappy from being smooched. I mean so much smooching :-) Do you notice Noa's fabric flower on the hat and the dollie's ruffle on her dress? Oh I love Meagan's taste. Meagan stitched the dollie's eyes with eyelashes and lips, and rather than painted she is such a good looking doll. I was so sorry that Lucy was left at home and missed her first play date :-( It was just so so so nice to see the three of them. Such a cute family! Thank you, Meagan and Noa, and Miss Dollie! you know how hard it is to take a picture of a five month-old with her well loved dollie looking at the camera...oh no, don't break her legs...finally...

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

As located in an international city like San Francisco, we have people from all over the world. When I first opened the shop, many folks from Europe excitedly said, "This store reminds of my home country!" Well, Estella didn't say it exactly, but I know she loves my shop :-) She is from France and loves to sew. She makes bags and other small things like this orange tote. I love this orange print a lot, and with her dark color outfit, it looks gooooood. Don't you think? She told me she loves my apron dress, and she wants to work her way up to make herself clothes. Her first apparel project will be a skirt. Yay, sew Estella sew! And thank you!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Yufu's little girls' joint birthday party is well under way. The place is booked. The invitations are out. The menu is decided. And the dresses are ready. Sounds like a wedding :-) Well, a birthday party in an early age is just as a big deal as a wedding for a young mother, right? Anyways, the girls are ready for it too. They just love mom's handmade apron dresses! How cute! Did you notice? It's pink :-) Yes, the girls love pink. And so do I. Thank you always, Yufu, Saho, and Shino! P.S. The chocolate cake was awesome. Totally loved it. Thank you again.a moment like this makes me long for a sister...

Monday, March 8, 2010

I drink coffee in the morning with my morning mug. That basil green one you might have seen somewhere on my blog. It's just out of my habit, and it's the only mug that holds two cups of coffee. But, in the afternoon on my day offs, I drink tea. English, Chinese, or Japanese. Tea helps me relax after a hard days work around the house. And when I drink tea, it's not that green mug that serves me. It may be a silly yellow hen mug, or one with a blue piggy, or an earthy Japanese cup. But, today I chose an avocado green cup and saucer. Yes, I have some cups and saucers, but hardly use them myself alone. It was more relaxing, and I think the saucer helped me feel that way. Or was it The Beatles on the background? No, I know it was the saucer. It's funny, but it's true. Yeah, drinking out of a mug is just another day thing, but a cup and saucer make my Monday tea time richer. It's my indulgence.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

There, I finished my third tunic from Amy Butler's Mini Dress/Tunic pattern. The turquoise brown first, the black pindot second. This time I used gray slate print from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley. I love this line a lot. Maybe it's not a big eye catching print, and some people might find it not that exciting. Yes, it is rather a modest print, and that is what I like about. You might not know that I love the Civil War style fabrics though I don't carry them that much. (Well, if you guys find them more attractive, I will be able to carry more of them :-) Hope Valley definitely has the modesty of the Civil War fabrics with a bit of a modern twist. As the first two tunics, I love the way it turned out, and I love this pattern so much. So much that it became my shop uniform ever since the first one. And I know I will be making another one again...

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

I got a few new patterns from Sew Liberated. As usual, I picked something easy and cute for beginners. You could choose a print or solid. Either way, it will be cute. You will be gasping with a result, I'm sure.So try people try.School House Tunic

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